Of Men and Wolves
by WaveMoonstone
Summary: Wood Elf joins the Companions. Farkas/M Dragonborn.
1. Chapter 1

Whiterun was a large city that jutted up from the planes of Skyrim; it was the busiest town the wood elf Basil had seen in his life. People were bustling from shop to shop buying and selling, shrieking children were playing games in the cobblestone streets, and to top it all off, a man was screaming the sermons of Talos for the city to hear(whether they liked it or not).

All Basil wanted was to sell the miscellaneous junk he had collected from his travels and a nights rest. He doubted that he could call any city home in Skyrim. Elves like himself were treated badly by Nords, who ruled the large majority of Skyrim. Not much could be done about that; ostracizing was one of the harsher effects of war on society.

From talking to the people at the Inn, apparently a group of warriors branded as the 'Companions' were located in Whiterun in the Jorrvaskr, a famous mead hall. If joining included a free bed and maybe even food, Basil was in. As much as he loved roaming the forest, work and shelter would do him good.

Basil decided that the Jorrvaskr lived up in its reputation as a mead hall, because when he walked in, the fire roared and tables were lined with food and drink. The people inside looked like hardened warriors complete with war paint and a purely spiteful attitude. A woman approached him with war paint and a sturdy looking bow and said, "What are you doing here?"

"I want to join the Companions. I was told this was the place to go," Basil replied wearily.

"This is the place, and if you want to join, Kodlak would be the person to talk too." The woman walked away and sat next to a large burly looking man with war paint obscuring his eyes. The man blatantly stared at his high cheeks and pointed ears that stuck out from his head. It made his spine tingle in an uncomfortable way and he quickly made his way to where the head warrior Kodlak was.

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><p>Kodlak Whitemane was a weathered fighter who looked to be old by the grey of his beard and the lines of his face. He told me that another man, Vilkas, would fight with him to see if he "had what it takes." Vilkas certainly was strong, but he had his weaknesses, and after a uppercut to the chin I was a potential candidate to join the Companions. The large muscular man from before was to walk me to a bed and chest I would be allowed to use.<p>

"Oh I didn't expect you to make it elf," the burly man said. "By the way, my names Farkas. Nice to meet you." Farkas' smile was unnerving; the gesture contained something wild and feral and strong that could not be controlled. My body shivered and could not help but notice the top of my head only measured up to his nose- his body was hefty and muscular like the build of most Nords but he was a lot taller. His eyes were dark like the black of his war paint and were staring with a slight arrogance.

"You're very small, little elf, I thought Vilkas would knock you down but I was wrong," he said in a matter-of-fact way. And I was small. And skinny. I never put on much weight and I never planned on it, and because of this, I have the body of a Nord girl. My face is distinctively male though, with the high chiseled cheekbones of an elf, thin lips stuck in a frown, and slanted amber eyes that complimented a straight, perky nose.

"Just because I am not as large as you burly Nords does not mean that I am soft or weak," I stated. "All it means that I am more stealthy than you bumbling Nords." He turned and gave me a look, but I purposefully did not pay him any attention and kept walking, right into him, because he had stopped. For a split second I wished that I had been born a Nord since it might have saved me the scrutiny of his staring eyes.

A second later I was shoved up the wall; I suspended by the scruff of my leather armor and wedged between the angered Nord Farkas and the unfeeling chill of the stone wall. "That's some big talk coming from such a small body. An elf running around Skyrim should know how to keep his jaw tight." He grabbed the sensitive pointed tip of my left ear and tugged slightly as if threatening to ripe it off. My ear unconsciously twitched and I sucked in a shaky breath; Elf ears were sensitive unlike the Nord counterparts. His finger sent shivers down the back of my spine. I could only remain silent, because I was no good talker and my mouth was how I got into this in the first place.

"What is your name little elf?" His fingers were now massaging the point and folds of the ear as if daring me to argue further. "I am called Basil." I replied as nonchalant as possible with Farkas' left hand now combing through my brown hair that was long enough to be pulled back in a knot. He hummed and time slowed as I wondered if he was ever going to let me down. What must have been a few seconds later, he let me down and pointed me to my bed a few feet away and walked away with a scary kind of smile.

With him gone, I let out a shaky sigh. Joining the Companions was going to be harder than I thought.

* * *

><p>After running around doing small missions and quests, the Companions unofficial leader Kodlak is sending me on a mission to prove my valor and steel with Farkas as my Shield Brother. Of all the people in this place, it had to be him. If I had a choice, I would have chose Aela. The woman had grit and as an aspiring archer, I admired her. She was also very easy on the eyes.<p>

Farkas and I didn't speak until we were halfway there. It bothered him that I was very much outrunning him; his heavy armor and great sword kept his weight high and stamina low. I favored a bow but kept an arsenal of daggers ready for close combat. Other than that, I was proficient at small restoration spells.

"Elf, slow down, we don't have to run all the way there! You know we can take a break every once and awhile; there's no need to keep up such a unrelenting pace." I stopped and looked back at him twenty feet away from flat land jutting higher than ground level. I am taller than he is now.

"I wasn't even sprinting. Besides, we haven't even got there yet. Why would we break?" I stated. "It's almost sunset. We should stop for the night," he replied, and came to stand before me. With him in front of me, we now were eye to eye height wise. "Sure" I said, " Do you have anywhere in mind?"

From there Farkas led me to an almost cave- where another higher piece of land made an overhang over the planes we were walking through. He started a fire with some dry brambles that were scattered around, and laid down next to the fireside where I was resting a few feet away. The fire was warm but the chill of fall made itself present that night and the temperature slowly began to fall. The leaves on the trees were blowing and the wind was starting to turn my nose a bloody pink color. Farkas was probably asleep as he was laying on his side away from me. I couldn't fall asleep so I made my way over to lonely oak tree that had grown out of the otherwise flat, treeless landscape next to a pond.

I hadn't had a good bath since I'd came to Whiterun because I was stuck inside the city running errands, so I took off my clothes and placed them in a pile on the roots of the oak. The water was chilly and the air was cold but it was refreshing non-the-less. I glanced back at the fire Farkas made; from here it was a small light close to the dark horizon. The stars shown down clearly here, with no trees or hills to obstruct the glowing light of the moons, but I could not see the shadow Farkas' body had made next to the fire. Then I heard a noise behind me- a boot hitting a tree root and slight swearing.

"Little Elf, you should know better than to go roaming off into the night alone. Dangerous evil things come out at night if you believe the stories," Farkas announced. I couldn't see his face in the dark, but he was standing on the shore of the pond next to the tree presumably watching me. "I was bathing," I remarked, and tried to continue to wash myself, but his eyes were bearing holes in my back and I quickly grew uncomfortable. "Do you mind?" I asked incredulously wondering what was keeping him here as my ears began to turn pink with embarrassment.

"Do I mind what?" he retorted as he stepped into the water drawing closer to me. "I'm not leaving, if that's what you're asking, because it would not be safe for you to be bare-ass naked at night in the wild where a dragon could swoop down any moment."

"Do you really believe in dragons?" I asked. I had seen one before so I knew they existed, but wouldn't it be hard for someone else who had probably never seen a dragon to believe in them?

"They don't see all that ridiculous," he replied. "I've seen stranger things than dragons in my life. And they have to have been alive at some point because dragon bones exist, so dragons must be very rare or extinct now. Do you believe in dragons?" he asked teasingly and stepped closer to me laying his arm across my shoulders and massaged the back of my neck with his hand.

"Yes I do. I was at Helgen when the dragon attacked the city," I answered, trying to push him away, but he was fully dawned in heavy armor and a lot stronger than me. He grabbed me and pulled me closer to his chest, and although his steel armor was cold, he smelled like musk and warmth, and it was irresistible. But I grew cold eventually standing knee deep in the pond even with Farkas around me.

"Let me go; it's cold and I need to get dressed," I announced. He slowly unwrapped his arms around me and let me make my way to my clothes still on the roots of the oak tree. I put them on and we made our way back to the fire; I'm not really sure where that exchange left us. I had thought that we were on bad terms, but Farkas seemed to think otherwise. The fire warmed us and Farkas laid next to me, pulling me closer to his warm musk. Before I feel asleep my face must have been buried in the crook of his neck. That night I felt incredibly safe.


	2. Chapter 2

Dustman's Cairn was a dark old ruin, in which Nord dead stirred. What a sad thing, one's body to be tied to such a dreary life-less place even in dead. To Basil, the Nords had peculiar rituals for their dead; when he died, Basil wanted his ashes to be scattered through the forest to give life to the trees and plants.

* * *

><p>Farkas and I continued through the ruins at a good pace until we arrived at some barred metal doors and various levers and chains. In attempt to open the doors, I ended up trapped in a small corner leaving Farkas alone in the larger chamber. In a ruin filled with the undead, staying together was critical because fighting back to back was the easiest way to clear the ruins. Also, strength in numbers is an indefinitely useful fighting strategy.<p>

Farkas let loose a wolfish grin at me and said, "Don't worry I'll get you out. There has to be another switch somewhere." He took a few steps to the left and some people- live people, sprang from the shadows and surrounded him. "You won't get out of here alive, monster!" roared a man to the side. I could not see his face, but Farkas let out a howl- filled with rage and anguish, and it started as a low rumble and raised up in pitch until it was a sharp bellow filled with what could only be excitement and thrill of the hunt, and it seemed to go on and on and struck fear in his enemies heart's.

And with that howl of thrill and delight his body pitched forward to compensate for his rapidly growing arms and claws. He grew fur that was standing on end and ears that were thrown back atop of furious eyes and a mouth set full of sharp carnivorous teeth. In front of me, Farkas had turned into a wolf-man and I was suddenly glad to have that door barring him from me. I did not know if this transformation would also change his mind and render him as wild and dangerous as he looks. In this beast-like form, Farkas destroyed his surrounding attackers easily with swipes from his sharp claws and lumbered out of my line of sight.

The gate opened with a creak, and Farkas was wagging his tail and smiled a twisted smile filled with long sharp teeth bursting out of his mouth. The next moment he was standing next to me in naught but a loin cloth. "It is a gift given to the inner circle of the Companions, I hope I didn't scare you to bad," Farkas explained eyeing me up as to see what I would do. I was surprised but it also explained why he was so accepting to believe in dragons- he could transform at will into whatever creature Nord parents threatened their children with if they were to venture outside, away from the safety of home, at night.

"I will admit- you transforming into a wolf-man gave me a fright, but all is well, and we will continue. You should also put on your clothes; it is not a good idea to be walking around such a deathly tainted place in only a loin cloth. It has to be unhealthy," I retorted, although, I could not help but stare. Farkas had large defined muscles and strong sturdy legs with tanned skin carved with many scars- some only a shade lighter than his tanned tone, and others etched a silvery color surrounded by pinker flesh. He was built strong and sturdy with broad muscled shoulders and thick biceps from swinging his two-handed sword. Looking at him made me a tad bit self conscious- standing next to him, I looked small and unimpressive with skinny arms and legs and a small chest. Wood Elves were not built with strength in mind; my kind had a more agile flexible build and longer legs, for our size, to help with trekking through the deep untamed forests of Valenwood.

Farkas donned his armor and we were on our way. Apparently, the people who attacked him called themselves the 'Silver Hand,' and they went around attacking, as Farkas says, 'werewolves' and other creatures they deem unnatural and even demonic. After defeating more of the silver hand, I realized almost everyone of them carried multiple cure disease potions. Was this 'gift' of becoming a werewolf really just a disease? I was also fascinated with their silver swords; these people must really hate the undead to put together enough resources for everyone to have have a sword made of silver. I saw Farkas give me a disapproving look as I started collecting multiples of them.

"Kodlak might not entirely approve of you having that much silver on your person," Farkas remarked with a frown, cutting down a Draugr with one blow of his sword.

"I am planning on selling all of these so I won't have them on me for very long," I replied, sliding my knife between the ribs of another undead nearby. I did not tell him I would keep one just for the sake of collecting; it had become a sort of bad habit for me to collect weapons and armor even if I knew I would never wear them again. Purchasing a house in Whiterun only encouraged my hoarding habits- more room to dump more miscellaneous objects I would never give a second glance. Somehow, I had become the Thane of Whiterun, an important person in Nord towns, and was even given a housecarl Lydia. When she was not carrying around items for me, she was guarding my new home.

Farkas and I quickly collected the fragments of Wuuthrad from the Silver-Hand and ran back outside to Skyrim. I was never happier to be outside under the stars- that place that reeked of death and the air was hardly fit to breath. Both moons were full and gave off an unearthly glow making the grass seem to glow. The moonlight was reflecting off a stream, and a little further away a bonfire burned- it must've been a Giant camp.

"Lets head back now," Farkas announced. "I was planning on it, but first I need to hunt a few elk," I replied. I needed some new leather armor, the armor I had on now was worn down and was thinning on my abdomen- which is not a place you want a attacker to slash. "I will follow you then to make sure you make it back. But mostly because if I go back without you, Vilkas will think I neglected my duty," Farkas explained.

"You can follow if you need to, just try to keep quiet or you'll scare all the deer away." He wasn't the stealthiest thing ever and his heavy armor didn't help with all it's clangs and noise. Farkas responded with a grunt and entered a crouch with his bow drawn. I copied him and we started wandering- looking for signs of deer and elk that lived on the plane. Soon enough, spotted a big male elk with an impressive pair of antlers. I pulled back my arrow and it flew forward and lodged itself in the elks neck; an instant kill.

"Impressive," Farkas stated. "It's not that impressive taking into account I've been shooting things with a bow ever since I had the strength to pull the string back. I knew a man who could shoot a butterfly in a valley below form atop a mountain," I countered.

"I'm going to assume he is an Elf, because your kind seems to have a natural talent for archery," Farkas stated looking at me with dark eyes and a playful smile. "Yes he is a Wood Elf; I knew him from my childhood in Valenwood," I told him while keeping my eyes down at the elk I was skinning.

"Do you regret leaving there?" Farkas asked, his eyes still boring into the back of my neck. "Sometimes I miss it, but no, I do not regret leaving. My life here in Skyrim is a good life," I responded. "What was it like there?" Farkas curiously inquired. I tried to explain the best I could. "In many ways, it is like Skyrim, but in many ways it is not. Valenwood was filled with lush, beautiful forests- but unlike the forests of Skyrim, they were more humid and tropical. Many people are still living in the forests although we do have many cities among the trees. There are even a few Bosmer who practice the traditional ways of not harming or eating any plants from our forests. But they are far and in between."

Farkas hummed in response but did not talk; he seemed lost in thought, which I appreciated at the moment. Talking about my old home made me nostalgic and consumed me with wanderlust- a wanting to run through the deep forests of my homeland once again.

"Lets return to the Jorrvaskr," I announced to Farkas. He nodded and we were on our way. When we got back to Jorrvaskr, Farkas disappeared and I was left with but a few hours to sleep. To tired to walk to my new house, I stumbled to my bunk within the mead hall. As soon as I laid down, I drifted off.

* * *

><p>I awoke sometime in the early afternoon. Despite the lack of privacy in the bunks, the beds were sturdy with soft leather furs. It was hard waking up, but after I rolled out of bed, I talked to Vilkas and he said to follow. I followed him out back, and stood in front of the training dummies and archery targets. A small gathering of the Companions were waiting for me there; Vilkas cleared his throat and the chatter among the group died down.<p>

"Farkas, did this man prove himself to be worthy and honorable in finishing the quest he was given? Can you swear that your shield brother would be a worthy addition to the Companions?" Vilkas inquired formally to his brother.

Farkas smiled with pride and said, "I swear that he is an honorable man, and worthy to be called a Companion." Vilkas returned his smile and told me, "Welcome to the Companions, brother. You may pick up a skyforge steel weapon of your choice from Eorlund."

I was relieved and excited at the same time; now I was an official member. Farkas grasped my shoulder and led my inside the Jorrvaskr. "Come drink with me brother, we will celebrate tonight," Farkas said proudly to me and led me to the great table filled with food and drinks. He delivered a bottle of mead into my hand, and my memory went down-hill from there. I remember Aela joining our drinking party at some time and that Farkas was getting pretty touchy-feely as the night progressed.

Eventually Aela left, and Farkas and I drunk through the night until we stumbled through the halls of the barracks and we ended up falling in his double bed. The last thing I remember was Farkas grabbing a hold of my face and mashing our lips together with us struggling for dominance; he pulled me closer and we both passed out into sleep.

* * *

><p>I awoke and panicked, because for a second, I had forgot where I was; had I been that drunk to just pass out in someone's bed? The answer was yes, but luckily, it wasn't just some stranger, it was Farkas. Memories flooded back from last night and I could only lay back and think about what to do. Farkas was sleeping on the right side of his bed, on his side, and I could see his face from here. At least the part that wasn't covered with his shaggy brown hair. My own chestnut-colored hair was beginning to get knotted, and I was starting to smell ripe, so I rolled out of his bed and was intending to make my way to one of the many streams outside of Whiterun to bathe. My head felt like it was going to explode with pressure and my heartbeat turned into a loud pounding inside my head; hangovers suck.<p>

Before I could make it out of the Jorrvaskr, Vilkas intercepted me. "Basil, Skjor wants to see you; he's sitting in front of his room right now." I replied, "Okay, I'll see him first thing."

I spotted Skjor right in front of his room where Vilkas said he would be. "Basil, I would like to meet you outside in front of the Skyforge after dark," Skjor said putting down the book he had been reading and looked up at me. "After dark?" I questioned. "Yes, we need to officially deduct you into the Companions," Skjor replied studying my face. As far as I knew, they had already officially deducted me. But then I thought about when Farkas had said about becoming a werewolf was given to those who had joined the inner circles in the Companions. I was excited and proud to so quickly have become a part of their 'inner circle', but was becoming a werewolf really worth it?

"I will meet you there, then," I replied. Skjor studied my face as I tried hard to not let my mixed emotions seep out into my features. "Good," he finally said, and went back to reading his book. I left quickly afterwards; I had become uncomfortable under Skjor's gaze and I needed a bath badly.

Eventually, I found myself outside of Whiterun in the same spot were I had bathed a few days ago near the same old lonely oak tree. My headache subsided as the cool water ran over my body, washing away dirt and blood alike. I untangled my long hair and tied it back into its former ponytail while thinking about Farkas, the Companions, and werewolves. I decided that I would let myself become a werewolf; it couldn't be that horrible of a thing if all the Companions could transform into the beast.

I threw my clothes back on and continued to do chores for the rest of the day; made some potions, enchanted some jewelry, sold plenty of collected swords and armor and was planning to stop by Belethors shop when I saw Farkas looking at me from across the marketplace. He looked nervous and was wringing his hand but motioned for me to follow him. He led me to some secluded area in the cloud district; it was abandoned at this time of day because everyone was buying food and trinkets at the market or working a shop.

Farkas was looking somewhere near my feet and I had started to wonder if he was ever going to talk to me when he finally stated, "I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable because I kissed you last night." I probably should have expected that, but for some reason it still caught me off guard and I felt myself struggling for words. "No... you didn't make me feel uncomfortable. Kissing you felt nice," I responded, though it sounded weird and the words kept getting stuck in my throat.

Farkas perked up when he heard me say that. "So... can I kiss you again, then?" I was having trouble controlling my emotions and breathing at the same time, but I nodded and he stepped closer to me. Farkas grabbed my chin and gave my eyes a long thoughtful look, and traced my pointed ears with his fingers. An involuntary shiver slid down my spine, and finally when I thought he had lost the nerve to kiss me, he pushed his mouth against mine more forcefully than I expected and I grabbed his shoulder for balance. I let him into my mouth and our tongues wrestled for dominance; I wrapped my fingers in his hair and fought back a moan. His left hand held my waist against his and massaged the back of my neck with his right. Eventually, I pulled back in a vain attempt at breathing. I could hear him breathing loudly next to me and he pulled my head to rest on top of his shoulder.

Just as I was breathing normally, Farkas caught my ear lobe between his tongue and top teeth and pulled at it gently; I let out an embarrassing moan as he continued trailing his tongue along the sensitive point on my ear. As soon as it started, Farkas stopped, and stared at me rather seriously. "Would you... be my lover?" His question surprised me a little. "Yes. I would like that," I responded, moving my hand from my clutch on his hair to his shoulder.

At that he let out a toothy grin and playfully pushed me back into the wall of a building to once again capture my mouth with his and giving a small tug on his hold on my ponytail of hair. I wrapped my arms around his large shoulders in an attempt to pull him closer. He rested his head on top of my shoulder as I nuzzled his neck. And all was well.

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><p>Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I greatly appreciate it when I actually know people are reading this, and as a growing author, I really really need your criticism. I got from told from a few people that Farkas was not acting like himself, and in the 1st chapter he wasn't. So hopefully this chapter he was a little more in character. I also could use some advice because to me this first person view seems a little awkward but I'm not sure how to make it flow more, and I'm not sure if I should switch to third person.<p>

Song of the chapter: 'I don't mind' by Defeater.


	3. Chapter 3

It was eleven and o'clock Whiterun was silent; the stars and both moons were out tonight and unusually bright. The guards were walking their usual rounds but other than that the streets were quiet. Skjor was in front of the Skyforge waiting for me at, but led me to an outline of a door carved into the side.

"This is the Underforge ," Skjor explained. "It has been here even before Whiterun was built. Step inside."

The Underforge was a small, dim cave with an ominous looking bowl sitting on a pedestal in the center of the chamber. Aela was standing near it with one hand on her hip looking impatient.

"You already know that all of the Circle are werewolves; if you wish to join us, you must accept the wolf-blood," Skjor stated. "We will not force you to become a werewolf, but if you wish to be a part of the Circle, you must become one of us," Skjor looked at me and studied my face as if looking for a reaction.

"I will join the Circle, and if I must be a werewolf to do so, so be it," I announced. My voice sounded stronger than I really felt; the whole thought of being in a dark cave, and probably doing some cult-like ritual with a bowl full of blood made me tense and weary.

"Aela," Skjor said and turned around to look at Aela, who took out a dagger and made a long slit down her palm and held it out over the bowl. Inside of the stone bowl, the blood looked like someone had liquified a bunch of rubies; ominous but hypnotic.

"Hold out your hand for me brother," Skjor instructed me and took hold of my left hand, which I had extended for him. Skjor brought out a small dagger, but it looked sharp and dangerous compared to the soft flesh of my hand.

"I hope that's clean," I commented cautiously as I eyed him bring the dagger closer to my hand; his left hand was holding min palm up and even though it was big and warm, it held little comfort. Skjor thought what I said was hilarious and laughed loudly.

"You hold little fear of turning into a beast but you worry about a little germs," Skjor put out, "If you must know, I did clean it right before we met here.

Skjor tightened his grip on my hand and drew a straight line down my palm, which immediately began to bleed; he led me closer to where the bowl was sitting and dipped my hand in the pool of blood. At first everything felt normal, but after a few seconds what felt like molten lava flowed into my hand, up my veins, and made my body burn. I screamed and jerked my hand back; I could hear Skjor shouting something to Aela but I could not understand what because my mind was writhing inside my head.

Skjor was trying to hold my flailing body down but I shoved him off with a tremendous burst of energy, and ran out of the Underforge. My body twisted; long claws burst from underneath my fingernails, I gained a few feet hight-wise, and my mouth shook as my jaw grew to make room for some large teeth that had popped out of my gums.

Next thing I know, guards are everywhere like they've sprouted from a hole in the ground. I raised my head and let out a furious roar; some quaked and ran away, some cowered with their hands covering their heads, and then a few of the braver guards did back down and sprinted to me and attacked.

Those I finished with my new claws and afterwards everything was a blur- I remember running through White-run and flashes of trees and the occasional splash of water under my wolf-like feet. The moons called to my from their home in the sky and I ran toward them desperately, but they alluded me in a way that no matter how much ground was covered I was never any closer or further away from them.

* * *

><p>Farkas was sitting in his room, sharpening his steel great-sword when Skjor burst into the room.<p>

"Farkas, I want to ask you a favor," Skjor said, looking uncomfortable. "Aela said that you were close to Basil."

"Yeah, what's the matter?" Farkas stated; he wished Skjor would just get to the point.

"Well... since Basil was made part of the Circle, he needed to become a werewolf, and you know how that is. I wasn't expecting him to sprint out of Whiterun, but he can't be far," Skjor said looking Farkas in the eye. "If I go after him, he might run; but he likes you."

"I will get him back here safe, don't worry," Farkas replied. He was a little angry at Skjor for being irresponsible in allowing Basil to get so far away his first time as a beast, but his anger soon quelled. Basil might be small for a typical male, but what he lacked in brawn he made up stealth and smarts. Farkas was mostly worried about his mental condition- transforming for the first time takes a toll on the mind.

* * *

><p>When I woke up, my whole body was sore and a good portion covered in blood; what kind of blood, animal or human, I never knew. My chest and arms were coated in it and my legs had mostly specks of it; it was mostly dried, but in some areas it was still sticky. It was freezing cold and it looked like I had ran across the great plane and into an area of alpine mountain. The trees were dusted with snow and some fine flakes were falling, but the ground was mostly green.<p>

The cold wouldn't normally have bothered me, but right now I was naked. When I had seen Farkas turn into his beast form, his clothes and items were scattered in the spot he had changed. That meant that my clothes were probably still in Whiterun in the hands of a circle member, most likely Skjor or Aela.

It was weirdly exhilarating walking in the woods with no clothes- I could feel the grass crunch under my feet and the air against my bare skin felt soothing. I walked to the nearest stream and washed the blood off; the water washed away red but quickly ran down stream. It took me awhile to comb my hair free from knots and tangles, but once I did, it was worth it. My hair was remarkably soft and framed my head with a chestnut color.

Before I could tie it back in it's usually knot, I heard a rustle in the bushes. Quickly, I got out of the water and crouched behind a large boulder near the stream. After a few agonizing moments, a very large elk appeared next to a tree on the opposite side of the water. He spotted me after a moment, and once he deemed I wasn't a threat, he slowly moved to the water, lowered his great head, and took a long drink from the stream.

The elk scared me, but I realized I wasn't much without my daggers and bow; I was just a naked man running through the wilderness with nothing to protect him but his hands, and my hands were not very strong.

Eventually I found a road with signs and I figured out my location; I was east of Morthal somewhere in Hjaalmarch. It was cold and mountainous, but not to far away from Whiterun. The snow was falling heavily, but it was the white and fluffy type rather than the type of snow that falls wet and sopping and freezes one to the core. Along the road was a few mountain goats and an occasional snow hare, but for the most part, was hazard-free.

After awhile of walking, I spotted a cart tipped over a little ways down the road. On closer inspection, a body was in the road near the cart and the horse was obviously dead with deep slashes along its sides and neck. The body was of a male imperial and was stripped of everything besides a pair of boots and ragged trousers; both bodies were recently killed, and by the lack of the items one would normally carry around in a cart, bandits were probably the culprit.

But how inefficient to kill a horse! To take all the items a horse was needed to pull meant that there were a group of bandits rather than one or two. And since the bodies were killed recently, they would still be in the area; dangerous to a person with no weapons, although now I did have shoes and pants.

So I trudged on, hoping I would have more luck than the Breton and his horse. The snow was dying down, although the trees were loaded with it; it was piled up on their branches and the branches bended with the weight of the snow. I sticked with the main road for now- on the main road there was a chance that I would run into the bandits, but otherwise I might have to run from wolves and saber cats; it was a pick-your-poison type of situation.

* * *

><p>The road started going downhill and I was beginning to hope that I would get off the mountain- even though I now had some clothes, the cold still hurt. Ahead, tall boulders created an overhang on the road; all in all, a perfect sight for an ambush. I made my way around the road by climbing up on the rocks and by jumping down on the side of the large rocks away from the road.<p>

Immediately I realized I had made a big mistake when I spotted tents in the bushes and a cooking spit over a small fire- I had tried to avoid getting ambushed by bandits and ended walking into their camp. Before I could sneak away unnoticed, a massive Orc was already making his way towards me. Running was a viable solution, but there was no good escape route unless I was willing to alert all the other bandits to my presence.

The Orc was tall with muscles everywhere with a battle axe strapped to his back and wearing the unofficial uniform bandits just can't get enough of- fur armor. As he trudged towards me he spoke,

"Little Elf, your kind has a tendency of sticking their noses where they're not welcome," he growled in distaste.

"Just passing through," I replied trying to smile but I think it turned out more like pained grimace. I made a move to quickly walk past him, but he side stepped and I ended up running into his chest; the top of my head barely touched the top of his shoulders. At least he hadn't attacked me yet, which was more than you could say for most bandits.

"Give me your money and I won't break your neck," He spit out, looking down down at me menacingly. His eyes were a dark brown but his pupils were surrounded by a ring of dark olive green and he sported a series of scars running across his left cheek.

"Um, well normally but I would, but as of now, all I have in my pocket are some snowberries. I just picked them today; they're just about the only thing that grows in this icy hell," I said slowly backing away from him; if I had to run, I wanted to be at least an arms-reach away from the Orc.

At least he battle axes swung slowly- it would give me a tad bit more time to run and it would slow him down, but if I was hit, I wasn't going to get back up.

He grunted and examined my ragged trousers and shirtless look, took a step forward, and patted down my pockets with one hand and the other hover near the grip of his axe. After he could not find anything but snowberries he pulled them out of my pocket and held them in his enormous hand.

"Can you eat these?" He asked, glaring at me as if daring me to lie.

"Well they're edible, but that doesn't mean you'd want to eat them," I responded. He pointed towards outside of the encampment.

"Get out before I decide you need to die." I ran and didn't stop until I couldn't run any longer.

As it was growing dark, I found a small camp near the mouth of a mine which was populated with three miners sitting around a small fire. I poked my head out from behind the bushes- they didn't seem to be dangerous, just your average, over-worked working class. I decided to make myself known,

"May I share your fire?" I asked, stepping out from the brush, trying to keep a decent amount of distance between myself and them. There was two men and a woman; one of the men still had a pickaxe tied to his waist, the others appeared to only have soot-stained shirts and well-worn pants.

"Sure, there's even an extra sleeping bag over there near the mine if you need sleep," one of the male miners responded after a brief pause. I could not see many emotions on the men's faces, but the woman clearly wore a look of disdain.

"Thank you for your kindness," I said gratefully; my hands and nose felt frozen solid.

I sat in a chair between the two men, as far away from the annoyed woman as possible, to avoid angering her more. As I fanned my hands in front of the fire, one of the men, who calls himself Sven, started small talk with me, but it ended up dying out quickly and only the cracks of the fire could be heard. The woman kept sending me pointed looks and was blatantly staring at my pointed ears. I took a wild guess and assumed that an Elf had wronged her in some way in the past.

I stood up and made my way over to where Sven had said the sleeping bags were and laid down; as soon as my head hit the ground I was asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Attention: this chapter is NSFW

Song of the Chapter is Simple, Starving to be Safe by Daphne Loves Derby. A song I haven't listened to in years, but it fits with the chapter and never fails to make me nostalgic.

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><p>I woke to the sound of a familiar voice; a deep bass so rich it practically made the air vibrate. It was faint but there. As I sat up in the sleeping bag, I spotted Farkas near the entrance of the mine talking to one of the miners from yesterday- the male one who hadn't told me his name.<p>

"I'm looking for a male Wood Elf, have you seen him?" Farkas spoke.

"He's sleeping over there by the fire," he sent a glance to the area where I was sleeping, "What's the matter? Did he commit a crime?" The man asked suspiciously.

"Nay he's a friend I'm looking for. He had way to much to drink at an Inn a ways back; poor man can't hold his liquor. Last glimpse I got of him was when he started telling everyone he was going to be an adventurer, and ran off down the road to god knows where," Farkas laughed. The minor seemed relieved that he wasn't harboring a criminal that needed a Companion to drag him back to prison.

"His mother will be happy I found him. Once I bring him back, I'm sure she'll beat some sense into him." Farkas and the man both laughed loudly at my expense.

I chose then to walk over and greet Farkas.

"Fancy seeing you here," I said, my voice filled with fake surprise.

"I'm here to bring you back to White-run," Farkas replied, giving me a once-over.

"Yes I'm sure my mother's worried sick," I added letting a hint of venom drip into my voice. He just laughed and started walking.

* * *

><p>After a while of walking Farkas started conversation,<p>

"I was expecting you to be naked," he started. I gave him an amused look,

"Disappointed?" I teased, wiggling my eyebrows.

"Slightly, although I do approve of your lack of a shirt," Farkas explained, eyeing my bare chest and abdomen. I laughed.

"Do you happen to have a spare weapon? I asked, "walking around unarmed is a bad way to die."

"I'm here to rescue you; you should just relax, admire the scenery and let me protect you," Farkas said with a smile. I stopped and gave him that universal, 'I will pry a weapon out of your cold dead hands,' look and he shortly handed me his steel dagger.

I tucked it in the rope holding up my pants and we started back on our way to White-run.

* * *

><p>We stopped for camp when it got dark; Farkas started a fire while I went and fetched some dry wood, which wasn't hard, because we were in a forested area and there was no snow and the temperature was not too cold. Once the fire was made, we sat near each other and watched the stars and moon rise as the sun set. Farkas pulled me on to his lap and asked me,<p>

"How was your first time?" When he talked I could hear his breathing in my ear and I could feel his heart beating rhythmically against my back. At first the question confused me, but I realized quickly that he was talking about transforming into a wolf-beast.

"It wasn't too bad until afterwards; waking up in a pool of blood was scary. I wasn't sure how to react to that," I said, leaning back on his chest. That night had been horrifying in the wrongest way; I wished I had somehow remembered more during my transformation. It was horrible feeling knowing that I never would know what truly happened that night- I would never know what's, or who's blood I had splattered all over my body the next morning.

The thought of it sent a cold shiver down my spine, and I unconsciously wrapped my arms around my body. Farkas wrapped his arms around me pulling me closer to his warm belly,

"Don't worry; it gets easier," Farkas said into my ear, while nuzzling my neck and the side of my face. One of his hands grabbed one of my own, giving it a squeeze, while his other hand traced the lines of my bare chest. His hand traced around my abdomen, circled around my nipples, up to my collar bones, and started to investigate the folds of my pointed ear; gently grazing over the inner lines and massaging the outer shell. I was in pure bliss.

We laid like that for awhile, each enjoying the comfort of the other's warm body. His constant breathing and the beating of his heart lulled me into a relaxed state. Eventually he started nibbling on the lobe and point of my ear while tracing patterns onto my abdomen.

"Be careful with my ears, they're sensitive," I exclaimed as he clamped his teeth down on the lobe rather roughly, although it only added to the pool of heat growing in my groin. When Farkas started playing with my nipples, I couldn't contain the low moan I'd been holding in. Once I moaned, Farkas flipped me over on top of him and clashed our mouths together and we fought for dominance. I was straddling him with my arms at either side of him and couldn't help but rub my waist against his; an act he quickly mimicked. His hand was pulling roughly on my hair and his other was pressing my waist against his forcefully.

"Take off your armor, I'm already half naked," I whined into his ear, still rubbing my groin against his warm, hard body. Farkas chuckled,

"Since you asked so nicely," I got off of him and he efficiently unbuckled his heavy steel armor leaving him in only a loin cloth, which didn't do much to hide his erect member. His body was tanned and muscled, with a few pink scars running along his defined abs. There was a good amount of chest hair covering his pecks and it thinned over his belly button.

While I was admiring him, he walked up to me, got a hold on my shoulder blades and the back of my knees and lowered me, gently but forcefully, to the ground. This time he was on top of me and held my face in his hands as we kissed, only to stop for breath. I moaned louder this time as he slide his knee between my legs, letting my gain friction as I rubbed against it; Farkas grunted out a short moan as I harassed his hardened nipples.

One of his hands strayed below the rope belt of my trousers and wrapped his hand around my hardened member; I started moaning and thrusting eagerly and grabbed the hair on the back of his head and pulled him down for another kiss. I cupped my other hand around his ball sack and started gently massaging; he let out a deep moan and moved his hand in time with my desperate thrusts. Our breathing was hard and ragged and we both let out a stream of continuous moans as we pleasured each other.

With the loudest moan yet, I came inside his hand and turned both of my hands attention to his impossibly hard member which had begun to leak. I wrapped my hands around it and massaged the slit, pumping it to give his thrusts a fast pace; Farkas moaned and spurted his seed all over my hands and abdomen. Afterwards he simply kissed me, gently this time, and flipped us over so we were on our sides with him spooning me. The last thing I felt before drifting off to sleep was his hands gently tracing my nipples and him kissing the tip of my ear.

* * *

><p>I woke up to a heavy weight on my chest, restricting my breathing slightly. I opened my eyes and realized that, during the night, Farkas had managed to roll over on his stomach but still had his arm draped on top of my chest. The morning was chilly and refreshing; our fire had all but burned out leaving the remainder of the firewood to smolder in the damp air. I was contemplating going back asleep, but as early as it was, the sun was up and it was light out. As I got up to stretch my legs, Farkas stirred, but gave no other clue as to if he was awake or not.<p>

In the middle of stretching out the kinks and soreness I had gotten last night from sleeping on the ground among other things, Farkas sat up.

"Good morning," I said looking at him mid-stretch. He responded in with a grunt,

"Mornin'," Farkas rasped and sat up. He watched me finished my stretching and asked,

"Are you ready to start heading back?"

"Yeah. Are you ready?," I replied staring at him expectantly. Farkas was still only clothed in a loin cloth, a fact he seemed to have forgotten.

"What do y-, Ohh. Give me a second." Farkas replied, and quickly made his way over to where his steel armor sat. I laughed to myself; he was obviously not a morning person.

"We should find a stream to wash in on the way to White-run," I suggested; I felt grimy after a few days with no bath.

"Yeah, I could use a bath," Farkas agreed.

* * *

><p>And with that we were on our way to White-run. It only took us twenty minutes to find a medium sized river with little current; the river itself was rather secluded with trees and brush surrounding it on either side, and on its right bank was a large flat rock outcropping that was warm to the touch and under a ray of sun. Farkas and I stripped, placed our clothes on the flat rock, and went to the river; he jumped in immediately. I raised my arm in a vain attempt to keep the water off my face and entered through the the shallows until the water was up to my waist.<p>

Farkas lumbered forth, sloshing water as he noisily swam towards me,

"Come in farther," he said with a wolfish grin on his face. His war paint war starting to run in the water leaving black inky drops run down his cheeks and into the corner of his mouth. I smiled back and replied cheekily,

"Make me," as I retreated into knee deep water. Farkas smiled even wider and stomped closer to me; the water was swirling around us and kept splashing dangerously close to my eyes, forcing me to blink like an owl. While I was distracted, Farkas grabbed me by the waist and hoisted me over his back effortlessly.

"Hey!" I shouted beating his back with my hands, but I couldn't help smiling even wider. I stopped pounding on him and he dragged me over to a deep area with a big boulder in the middle of the river that didn't break the surface. Farkas sat on it and sat me on his lap.

"Let me wash you," he insisted, capturing both of my wrists with one of his big hands as if to get my attention; his other hand was wrapped around my abs to stabilize me from on top of his lap. I rolled my eyes and said,

"Fine, but you better do a good job," I threatened; I could hear but feel Farkas laughing through the vibrations in his chest. He stood up and perched me back on the rock. The first thing he did was massage dirt off my feet and calves, not missing in between my toes or behind my knees. Next he washed my chest and in my belly button, then up to my arms and arm pits. He spent a good chunk of time running his fingers through my hair and massaging my scalp. When I thought he has finished, I made a move to get up but he grabbed me and held my back to his chest.

"I'm not finished with you yet," Farkas explained grinning, moving his right hand to my crotch and started washing it with his hand. At first his washing seemed to be innocent enough, but after he clutched my hardening member in his hand in squeezed lightly, I could not suppress the breathy moan that came out my mouth. His hand moved around to massage my buttocks and gave them a grope; he then released me from his chest with a splash.

"I'm done now," Farkas stated. I turned around and looked at him,

"You took your time you lecher," I said teasingly, walking towards my clothes on the rock near the bank of the river.

"You told me to do a good job washing so I washed you well," Farkas countered, puffing out his chest as he started washing himself. I was too wet to put on my dry trousers, so I lounged around on the sunny rock waiting while Farkas finished cleaning up. By now, it was probably around early afternoon, so we should be able to make it to White-run by the late afternoon or early evening. I hoped we would arrive soon- now that we were nearing the planes, I was getting anxious. The planes were far too open for my taste; I preferred the secluded feel trees and mountains gave an area. There, nothing was too open or too public like the planes where you could see everything for miles in either direction.


	5. Chapter 5

"-If I had a sister I'd sell her in a second!" Belethor practically screamed at me, smiling.

I did not reply to him, I never do. I just thrusted some goods I needed to sell his way, and sped walked out of the shop while trying to dodge his creepy grin.

Next I was off to Anoriath's meat stand for whatever meager amount of salt he had in stock.

When I approached, he smiled at me, sidestepped his stand, and clasped his hands upon my shoulders.

"Brother, it's good to see you back in town!" Anoriath said warmly. "I have your salt," he said and pressed a small cloth bag of salt into my palm.

"Thanks a lot," I said, cheered that he remembered what I always ordered.

" Stay safe!" he exclaimed as he placed fleeting kiss on my right ear, as was customary of the Wood Elves of Valenwood; I repeated the gesture and tried not to laugh as his long orange beard tickled my shoulder.

And with that I had finally completed the many transactions of buying and selling and trading I needed to maintain the inventory of my many possessions.

"Hurry up, we need to report back to Skjor," Farkas needled me. He had no patience for trading; the whole time he had been sulking a few paces behind me while putting up a failing effort to get me to hurry, yet refusing to leave.

"I'm going now," I said glaring daggers at him, silently reprimanding him for his behavior.

He glared back.

* * *

><p>"It's good to see you two are still in one piece," Skjor smiled warmly at Farkas and I. "Good timing too- a few new requests have been put in."<p>

"What do you want me to do?" I said with newly replenished vigor, as this was my first quest as a member of the Circle. It would probably be something dangerous like wiping out a bandit fort or killing an on-the-run criminal.

"Well you see, a urgent request was sent in from Markarth. A nest of skeevers has infested The Hag's Cure, a popular apothecary there. You need to go and kill them before they can spread to any other residences," Skjor announced with a serious look on his face.

At first, I could hardly manage an expression that was not one of surprise, coupled with anger, but as a few seconds ticked by I was able make an affirmative grunt, and quickly made my way to the bunk and chest I was using in the Jorrvaskr.

"What's your problem," exclaimed Farkas, as he finally caught up with me.

"I finally move up to the Companions Inner Circle, after working my ass off as a grunt and become a werewolf, only to be given a mission to kill some over grown rats," I huffed angrily.

"We don't always have a never-ending stock of dangerous missions. Everyone has to do dirty work at times- we can't just ignore a request because a member sees it as a menial task," Farkas countered, giving me a sympathetic look.

"Hmph," I grunted, turning my back on him as I was preparing to go to bed, but I felt a pair of strong hands wrap around my hips and flip be back around.

Farkas crushed his lips on top of mine and thrust his tongue in to mine and, in doing so, wrapped me into a heated kiss. My hand grabbed his hair and the other snaked around his waist, pressing him closer; I suppressed a moan when one of his hands dropped to give one of my butt-cheeks a hard squeeze.

But just as quick as it started, Farkas unhanded me and pushed me back onto the bed and disappeared. Fucking tease.

I looked around the surrounding beds and was relieved to see most where empty, but still a few people were watching.

"Nice show," said some female Nord just out of earshot, snickering away with one of her friends.

I decided not to say anything and just rolled over to sleep. I need to buy a house soon.

* * *

><p><em>Farkas had pressed me into his bed, but not before plundering my mouth. He moved his mouth lower to abuse my hardened nipples, drawing out a moan from me; I yanked his brown hair harshly and he grunted in reaction. <em>

_Heat was pooling in my groin as he sucked at the junction of my collarbone and I could not help but thrust my hips in response; I could sense the blood pumping around his body and his hot breath ghosted my shoulder. Farkas' arousal pressed hard into my inner thigh and mine was pressed into his groin. He captured my wrists on either side of my body and bent down for another kiss; he re-adjusted himself so our hardened lengths would rub together and rutted against me. His throat vibrated against mine as he moaned deeply, which was interrupted by ones of my own. I brought my hips up to meet his powerful thrusts, and-_

"-Fuck," I muttered to myself, having awoken in bed, painfully alone. The sheets had tented around my waist during the night. It took all of my willpower to keep my hips still; being aroused in a communal dormitory was not a position I wanted to be in.

Most of the beds were full with sleeping people, which meant it was probably sometime in the early morning. After waiting around a few minutes, I rolled out of bed. I wouldn't have been able to get back to sleep, and anyway I felt the need to shoot a deer or two.

* * *

><p>Rorikstead was a small town, which consisted mostly of farms, and I wasn't planning to stop at the Inn, although the sun was rapidly descending towards he horizon. The farmers had stopped their labor and were chatting around their fields; their days work was almost over.<p>

From the corner of my eye, I saw a familiar form walk out of a house accompanied by an elderly woman, who was thanking him in earnest.

"It was no problem, Ma'am," I heard Farkas' deep voice float over from the lady's porch.

I kept on walking, but it wasn't long before I heard him cough a ways behind me as to get my attention.

I walked faster, still kind of cross with him over last night's kiss, but mostly I wanted to see what his reaction would be.

"Basil," his deep voice echoed across the fields. When I didn't respond except for speeding up my pace, he must have realized I was teasing him.

His heavy footsteps grew faster as he tried to catch up to me, and even faster as Farkas realized he was failing miserably. I inwardly chuckled at the image of him trying to run in all his heavy armor and weaponry, and walked a little faster still, until I was at a slow jog.

At this point, we had long passed the town and were moving at a fast pace down the road; the sun was just setting and without it, the temperature was starting to cool.

A howl coming from behind split the night and fear flashed through my senses, before a flash of understanding lit up my mind.

My back was thrown to the ground violently by a shaggy brown form, which then leapt on top of me, growling oddly; the werewolf proceeded to lick my neck and chew on one of the delicate ears that stuck out of my head. Two could play at this game.

With a howl of my own, I transformed. It, thankfully, wasn't as quite painful as the first time but it was still unsettling. Farkas jumped when I let out a piercing howl, and I took advantage of his weakness to throw him off me.

Even in wolf form, Farkas was still bigger than me. He was shaggy with dark brown hair and was ripped with thick muscle; I was a smaller brown werewolf whose legs were too skinny for its body.

I ran a bit further, but not before being pounced on again by Farkas who started biting my neck playfully, and brought my fur on end with his growling. We continued fighting until he turned back into his Nord-self and I pinned him underneath my furry form, until I changed back too.

After my transformation, I landed on top of him; we both had lost our clothes somewhere along the way. Farkas smirked at me and growled again, this time in human form, and I laughed at him. I was still on him and was trying to remain so but he was putting up a good struggle; I tried trapping his arms at his side but I could barely wrap my hands around his massive biceps and he reached out stroked my chest soothingly, in great contrast to our previously violent actions.

I kept one of his shoulders pinned down to the ground and I pressed at his firm abs with my other hand. He tensed up, making the muscles in his abdomen stand out even more, and grabbed a fist of my hair and pulled me down for a kiss, which I returned in full.

Farkas was growing hard against my leg; I raised it against his crotch for him to rub against, which he wasted no time in doing letting out a groan. I wetly trailed kisses down his chest and ended with his nipples, teasing them with my tongue until they hardened.

Farkas let out a loud moan with that and began to buck up against my leg violently and threw me off of him onto my stomach. He was on top of me now; biting the tip of my ear, rubbing my nipples, mapping out my stomach and feeling in between of my ribs leaving me to moan out uncontrollably as he continued in his ministrations.

"Farkas," I managed to speak, in between the moans that tore unconsciously from my throat. I needed him, _now._

He understood and aligned his hips and thrusted inside me, but held still inside me. At first it was a sharp pain splitting through me, but as the seconds ticked by, my body adjusted and the already overwhelming heat in my groin increased. Farkas was biting my neck from behind when I started moving my hips, willing his to move.

When he started thrusting, he snaked a hand around my body and gave my impossibly hard length a squeeze, and ran his hot hand up and down it, making me moan uncontrollably. He rammed into me, again and again, until I came and he followed soon after.

We were both panting heavily trying to recover and Farkas laid down on his side, pulling me closer through the grass. The night was chilly but his chest radiated heat and I could feel his warm breath slowing on my neck.

In my distraction I had not noticed until now where we had ended up, but we were lying on soft grass nearby a cluster of Juniper trees on a hill, underneath the moons. The sky was filled with stars except for the occasional spot where a cloud had drifted across.

We laid there; he traced patterns onto my chest and I dozed off into sleep.

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><p>I <em>love<em> reviews even if it's just a smiley face. Or a frown-ie face. Whatever floats your boat.


	6. Chapter 6

Markarth was a beautiful place; the waterfalls tumbling down everywhere made the air fresh and cool, like after a rain. Doors to houses and shops were tucked into stone along the ground and upper ledges. The Hag's Cure was a small shop above the smithy and nearby the Ruins.

Once inside, the old lady Bothela and her assistant Muiri vacated the shop leaving me to deal with the skeevers which had overrun the store and basement. The skeevers were ridiculously easy to kill, but still disgusting. When I finished killing the last of the dirty flee-carriers I left a open bottle of skeever-cide open in the basement, just in case.

The old lady thanked me over and over and gave me a generous payment to split with the Companions. The young woman Muiri thanked him a little too sweetly and I could not help but to think, _'Sorry babe, I'm taken.' _

Now paid, I wanted to pick up some more magic books. Despite being an elf I had never relied on magic for more than the basic healing or fire magic, but now that I had the septim's, why not. It's better to have a few tricks up your sleeve anyway as a last case scenario anyway.

The walk to stone keep was short and oddly scenic for a city. The guards standing by the stone doors were trying and failing to be discreet about their staring and whispers.

"Not another bloody elf," one quietly muttered to the other and opened the door to the keep promptly for me.

I rolled my eyes and stepped inside. The keep was rather dark being lit sparsely by torches around the entrance, and broke off into multiple directions. Dwemer statues decorated the huge space and silently guarded the staircases leading to the jarl, but I wanted the other path towards Calcelmo the court's wizard.

Just as I was about to reach the wizard's stone room when a fast moving person knocked me off my feet and straight onto my ass. I sat on the floor in shock for about a second and started to get up when someone offered me golden yellowish hand. I took it and was pulled up face to face with a Thalmor. That was really unexpected to say the least.

He had a honey colored face with slanted eyes and features typical of the Altmeri, and was wearing the Thalmor cloak armour and a hood that obscured his hair but failed to hide two delicate ear tips.

"Sorry, you took quite the spill there," the Altmer said to me.

Speechless and kind of weirded out by the Thalmor attempting conversation I replied,

"I'm fine."

"My name's Ondolemar, I work am charge of the Thalmor here in Markarth," he went on to explain, staring at me with moss green eyes.

"Urm, my name's Basil. I'm just passing through," I said slowly, not wanting to mention the Companions in case it upset his delicate High Elf sensibilities by way of a group of leaderless Nord warriors.

Ondolemar brushed some invisible off my shoulders and smiled rather kindly and proclaimed,

"In this harsh land with barbaric Nords and other less fortunate races, we elves need to stick together." After saying that he promptly marched off escorted to somewhere else in the keep by two other Thalmor guards I had failed to notice until now. That was odd.

Hurrying, I quickly stepped to Calcelmo's stone area within the keep and rummaged through a few of his spell books in various conditions while he talked excitedly about his research on the Dwemer. Farkas had walked with me to Markarth and was currently drinking at the Inn, and I had a desire to get back to him. I bought a few of the many books and put them in my pack quickly to read later.

* * *

><p>When I got back to the Silver-Blood Inn, it was growing dark. I opened the door to the crowded Inn; it was clear than on Samstag at the end of the workweek, this was the place to drink. It was a rowdy atmosphere and I easily spotted Farkas at the bar in thick steel armour talking loudly with another man who looked to be a miner.<p>

"-nobody knows how it got there but a monstrous giant was stomping around a farm outside Whiterun threatening to club everything that got near it. So some of us Companions were called to kill it before it wandered any closer to the city and hurt anybody. It took awhile, but eventually we downed it and when it fell, it was so big it shook the earth like a small earth-quake!" Farkas elaborated waving his hands drunkenly for emphasis at the miner who hooted in delight and struggled to keep balance a top the bar stool. I smirked and stood behind him and over his shoulder, ordered an ale from the barkeep.

Farkas turned around slowly and exclaimed,

"It's just about time you came back, I was getting worried the skeevers ate you alive!" We both laughed and he patted me on the back.

The barman handed me a bottle of ale and I joined the animated conversation between Farkas and a mercenary name Vorstag and the former, already intoxicated, miner.

When both Farkas and I were thoroughly intoxicated we paid our tab and trudged back to an open room. We curled up on the hard but warm stone bed and fell asleep quickly.

AN: Woot! Another chapter finally, albeit a short one. Upon thinking long and hard I may actually have an idea for some plot to this otherwise unstructured, spontaneous story. And (hopefully) I'll have more time to write it. Enjoy and REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!


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